Springboard’s next batch of free part-time courses will include eight programmes featuring foreign languages as a key part of study in order to address Ireland’s language competency skills gap.

A total of 270 places are available on these courses from University College Cork (UCC), Athlone Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Carlow and Institute of Technology Tralee. Participants will have the opportunity to study one of eight different languages along with subjects covering entrepreneurship, business, informatics, agri-business and marketing.

The languages on offer are German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. This is the first time students will have the opportunity to study Korean at higher level in Ireland and it will be offered along with Japanese and Chinese in the Certificate in Business, Language and Culture in East Asia course at UCC.

Springboard courses are open to job-seekers and are focused on providing skills much needed by employers in Ireland. Irish job-seekers are far behind most of their European counterparts in terms of foreign language competency and this often forces employers to recruit from abroad.

“These courses demonstrate in a very tangible way the commitment of the HEA (Higher Education Authority) and the higher education institutions to further internationalise the Irish higher-education sector,” said the HEA’s head of European programmes Gerry O’Sullivan. “English is a major asset for our graduates but competence in another foreign language will give us a competitive advantage, as well as open access to the mindset of those with whom we wish to trade.”

The new courses were unveiled as part of Springboard’s next batch of 200 free part-time courses that will commence in September. A Springboard information roadshow will reach Cork’s City Hall on 20 August, offering further details about the courses and advice for job-seekers.

Elaine Burke is managing editor of Siliconrepublic.com. She joined in 2011 as a journalist covering gadgets, new media and tech jobs news. She comes from a background in publishing and is known for being particularly persnickety when it comes to spelling and grammar – earning her the nickname, Critical Red Pen. When she hasn’t got her nose stuck in her laptop, you’ll find her in the kitchen, at the cinema, or on the dancefloor.

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